Professor Shane Kilcommins and Dr Susan Leahy were delighted to attend the 3rd Annual Criminal Justice Joint Agencies Conference in Dublin Castle on June 28th. This one-day conference was organised by the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development and the Probation Service. As ACJRD council members, Professor Kilcommins and Dr Leahy were both involved in the organisation of the conference. The conference featured a roundtable discussion on the relationship between researchers and commissioners of research which included representatives from funding bodies and academics from a range of Irish universities, including the University of Limerick. Keynote speakers at the conference included: Mr. James Martin (Assistant Secretary, Department of Justice & Equality); Professor Fergus McNeil (University of Glasgow); Mr. Ioan Durnescu (University of Bucharest) and; Dr. Niamh Hourigan (UCC). Closing remarks were delivered by An Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Ms. Frances Fitzgerald TD. Further details of the conference proceedings will be published on the ACJRD website in the coming weeks (www.acjrd.ie).